CCPR/C/119/D/2185/2012
concludes that the State party failed in its duty to protect Rajendra Dhakal’s life, in
violation of article 6 (1) of the Covenant.
11.7 The Committee takes note of the authors’ allegations that the incommunicado
detention since 8 January 1999 and subsequent enforced disappearance of Rajendra Dhakal
amount per se to treatment contrary to article 7. The Committee recognizes the degree of
suffering involved in being held indefinitely without contact with the outside world. It
recalls its general comment No. 20 (1992) on the prohibition of torture or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, which recommends that States parties
should make provision to ban incommunicado detention. In the present case, in the absence
of a satisfactory explanation from the State party, the Committee finds that the enforced
disappearance of Rajendra Dhakal constitutes a violation of article 7 of the Covenant.
Having reached that conclusion, the Committee will not examine the claims regarding the
violation of article 10 of the Covenant on the same grounds.
11.8 The Committee notes the anguish and distress caused to the three authors by
Rajendra Dhakal’s disappearance in January 1999. Despite their efforts and the Supreme
Court’s decision of 1 June 2007, the authors have never received sufficient explanation
concerning the circumstances surrounding his disappearance and, in case of his death, his
remains have not been returned to his family. In the absence of a satisfactory explanation
from the State party, the Committee considers that those facts reveal a violation of article 7
of the Covenant with respect to the authors. Having reached that conclusion, the Committee
will not examine the claims regarding the violation of the third author’s rights under article
24 (1) of the Covenant.
11.9 The Committee takes note of the authors’ allegations under article 9 that Rajendra
Dhakal was detained by the police without an arrest warrant. Even admitting that his arrest
was made pursuant to a valid arrest warrant, such as the one issued on 7 August 1998 by
Tanahun District Court, none of the procedures required by Nepalese and international law
have been met. He was never brought before a judge or any other official authorized by law
to exercise judicial power, and he could not institute proceedings before a court to
challenge the lawfulness of his detention. In that regard, the Committee observes that the
State party has not refuted the findings of the Supreme Court’s decision of 1 June 2007. In
the absence of a pertinent explanation from the State party, the Committee considers that
the facts described constitute a violation of article 9 of the Covenant.
11.10 With regard to the alleged violation of article 16, the Committee notes the authors’
allegations that Rajendra Dhakal was arrested by policemen; that despite the authors’
efforts, the State party has failed to provide them with sufficient information concerning his
disappearance; and that despite the Supreme Court’s ruling of 1 June 2007, no effective
investigation has been carried out to ascertain his fate and whereabouts, denying him the
protection of the law since 8 January 1999. The Committee is of the view that the
intentional removal of a person from the protection of the law constitutes a refusal of the
right to recognition as a person before the law, in particular if the efforts of his or her
relatives to obtain access to effective remedies have been systematically impeded. 15 The
Committee, therefore, finds that the enforced disappearance of Rajendra Dhakal deprives
him of the protection of the law and of his right to recognition as a person before the law, in
violation of article 16 of the Covenant.
11.11 The authors invoke article 2 (3) of the Covenant, which imposes on States parties the
obligation to ensure an effective remedy for all persons whose rights under the Covenant
have been violated. The Committee attaches importance to the establishment by States
parties of appropriate judicial and administrative mechanisms for addressing claims of
rights violations. It refers to its general comment No. 31 (2004) on the nature of the general
legal obligation imposed on States parties to the Covenant, which provides, inter alia, that
failure by a State party to investigate allegations of violations could in and of itself give rise
to a separate breach of the Covenant (para. 15). In the present case, the Committee observes
that, shortly after Rajendra Dhakal’s detention, the second author approached different
15
See communications No. 2164/2012, Basnet v. Nepal, Views adopted on 12 July 2016, para. 10.9;
Tharu et al. v. Nepal, para. 10.9; and Serna et al. v. Colombia, para. 9.5.
11